


Sweet as sugar, diabetic to the first degree

by Sukie_Kagamine



Category: Tenet (2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Sugar Daddy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:55:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26952508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sukie_Kagamine/pseuds/Sukie_Kagamine
Summary: “Actually, Neil, I have an offer for you.”“...Yes?”“How about I pay for your tuition so you can finish your Master’s program and when you do, you can come back here to work for me?”“But… Just… Just that? You just pay for everything and give me a job and ask for nothing back?”“Who said I’m asking for nothing back?” He smirked. “I want a date.”
Relationships: Neil/The Protagonist (Tenet)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 94





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [all_their_intricacies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_their_intricacies/gifts).



> A Sugar daddy/Sugar baby AU because this ship is too dark and I need to brighten things up a little. No one's dying, no one's going back in time, no one's saving the world, just the things that happen between the Protagonist and the Love Interest of the story.  
> Hope you enjoy!

"The Tweets on the fault in the design are exploding." One of his marketing staff cursed as she swiped at her tablet frantically. "People are starting to notice."

"This could affect our stock value at any time, boss." Dr. Wheeler looked at the other screens in the room with worried eyes. "We have to make a statement."

"That there were hundreds of designers and scientists and doctors working on this project and this project only, and we somehow all managed to overlook one simple mistake in our final product?" Barbara, head of Research, asked with a raised eyebrow. "The mistake that a fetus could notice?"

"That fetus didn't turn out to be so young and stupid, did he?" He said, glaring at them. "Since he noticed something you all didn't."

"He has to be from our competitors. Walters Robotics, possibly. Coming with the sole purpose is to find a mistake." Jameson, Head of Marketing, shook his head. "But we still have time, boss. None of the first batches are delivered yet, so we can take them back and fix them. And then we can schedule another speech telling people our improved version no longer has that flaw."

"And we're still lucky the flaw isn't fatal, so." Barbara mumbled under her breath, and he just sighed. 

"It's our mistake, Jameson. We have to make a statement. If it weren't for this young man, we would have released thousands of faulty products into the world, and it would be worse than this." He crossed his arms, glancing at his staff who were running around frantically, trying to create a better version as soon as possible. "I'll say something."

"Right, so do we have to go over with the Board of Directors first, or…?"

"No, just schedule my announcement for this afternoon." He turned around, returning to his office. "Wheeler, come help me with the speech, will you?"

The woman immediately left her work for another staff to continue and followed him to his office. The man was always good with words, but he never forgot to make sure she was there and nothing went wrong with whatever he said to the public. He was always that careful, but this time, the problem was on all of them.

It was strange, though, how this small but extremely serious mistake could go unnoticed by so many excellent scientists in his corporation, and most of their customers too, until that random, mysterious boy popped out from nowhere. Jameson was so sure that the kid was a spy sent by their competitors to sabotage the launch of the new product, but something inside him didn't believe it fully, and it had been nagging him nonstop since he was cut off in the middle of his speech promoting Tenet's newest line of product: Eternal Generator. By a young man, probably in college, dressed in a cheap grey linen suit with messy blond hair, who sat in the back of the room with no name card and no one knew who he was, either. But the boy made the whole plan sidetrack by asking a question about some abnormal things he noticed in the model, and strangely enough, no one could answer it. After that, he disappeared, nowhere to be found.

"You're thinking about the kid, aren't you?" Wheeler asked, eyes not leaving her laptop. She was checking the speech he wrote for one last time. 

He wanted to ask what kid, but then he knew playing dumb with Wheeler was useless. She had been his partner since the start of Tenet Corp, and she had been through all of his phases, including the lying ones. There was a time that he was a better liar than now, and she still knew him like the back of her hand.

"I don't think he's a spy from Walters Robotics."

"So you're thinking he has to be from another company?"

"No." He shook his head, surfing through the videos and photos of the promotion again, trying to find a clear shot of this boy. No paper found out his name, or his profession. He could be a Physics student, a professor, a scientist, or nobody at all. "It sounds stupid, but when I looked at him, I…think he didn't care about hurting us. He looked genuinely confused and curious when he asked me about the Generator. It's like he just wanted an answer, that's all."

"You know, I always trust your judge of character, Boss, but I have to say that it's not a very solid reason to defend him." Wheeler looked at him through her glasses. "And you shouldn't be thinking about him. If he's really someone being sent here to sabotage us, he won't show up again. And you don't need to know if he wanted to harm Tenet or not. It doesn't matter. We're still protecting it either way."

He knew that, he really did. It was just a random kid, after all. Could be anyone. He sighed, taking a sip from the can of Diet Coke on the desk. It's just there was something in those blue eyes of that kid when he didn't get the answer. It wasn't the full joy of someone who wanted to see him fail - but a numb, sad expression, and possibly, guilt. He had been wondering about that for so long.

"It's finished." She said, giving him the laptop so he could read through it. "Here, I fixed the first part a bit, we're heading for a sincere, warm kind of apology, so this'll be better."

"Sure." He nodded, reading the speech. "Yeah, it's great. We'll go with this tomorrow morning." 

He looked at the clock and it was 9:47 pm already. It had been a long day. 

"I'm heading home now." The woman stood up and started to look for her keys. "What time should I be here tomorrow?"

"Around 7. We're starting at 8." He said, turning off the computer, rubbing his aching eyes. God, his back was so sore, and he only had to sit there for two hours. He was getting old for a 42 year old man. 

She nodded and went out of the door with a small goodbye.

"Thanks for the help, Jessica." He smiled at Wheeler when she was about to leave. "We handled this just fine without the Board, yeah?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "That's what a good partner for. Good night, Boss."

And she left, probably going home to her extremely understanding and loving husband. He looked around, wondering if he should go home or just stay here for the night. It made no difference, really, sleeping in Tenet's building when everyone left, and coming back to his apartment where he was also completely alone. Most of the time, he enjoyed the silence and peace of it. But sometimes he saw the warm look on Wheeler's face when she mentioned her husband, or when Barbara asked for a day off to go on a trip with her boyfriend, and he wondered if having someone else would make it less daunting to be by himself. Standing on top, being the CEO, controlling everything, and having no one to share it with, for, how long, ten years now? 

  
  


He yawned and headed to the shower. Another privilege of being the King, he guessed. He spent some time in the hot sprays of the shower, letting all the tension from the day being washed off his body. To be honest, most of his friends were surprised he lived this long. With all the time he spent working, they expected him to die at 30, and now he had passed the milestone with 12 more years to spare. He had some experience with this business now. The small crisis from the promotion was bad, yes, but it wasn't the worst, and he knew he would go through this. Tenet would go through this, and they'd rise back up on top.

He turned off the water and wrapped a towel around his waist. Well, he didn't bring any pajamas, but he had a new suit around here somewhere, so he might just sleep in this and put them on in the morning. He shrugged and stepped outside.

"Hello, Mr. Tenet? I'm--oh. Oh." A kid jumped out from the sofa where he was probably waiting, ready to ambush him, and stopped mid-way when he saw the older man in the towel and nothing else. Huh. He couldn't believe it. It's the kid from the promotion.

"You seem to have a talent for catching my worst moments. Or create it." He rolled his eyes, didn't even bother to move. Well, what could he do, anyway? Call security?

"I'm sorry. Oh, God." The kid was covering his eyes and turning away now, but he could see the burning red cheeks in the gap between his shaking hands. "I'm sorry! I'll be back tomorrow!"

"No need for that." He cut the boy off when he was about to run for the door. "I'm not in the middle of anything now, actually. Why don't you sit back down and we'll talk about the reason you're here?"

The kid turned around slowly, and he could see his still very red cheeks when he gingerly sat down on the opposite side of the table, looking like he wanted the earth to swallow him all. The man couldn’t help a small smirk. God, even from the distance, he was already so young, but now, sitting only a few feet from each other? The boy looked like the kind of science nerd that always gets picked on in high school. A little skinny, messy hair, tired eyes and oh, he was wearing the Starbucks uniform.

“Tea or coffee?” He calmly asked, pulling out some cups, and the boy stuttered.

“I...uh… It’s almost the middle of the night.”

“Tea it is.” He shrugged, and started to pull out the tea bags. The kid had a British accent, so his tea was probably not even close to how he liked it, but it didn’t matter. He was still eyeing the man like he was the sun or something. “How did you get in? I’m sure they’ve closed the doors.”

“I came right when the last security man was about to leave, and I... asked him to let me leave a note for you. But he said you’re still here, so…”

“That’s very lucky of you. Normally people don’t come here without an appointment.” He poured boiling water into the teapot. 

“Yeah, he...recognized me. From the promotion. I told him I’m here to apologize. And he already made sure I’m not carrying any bomb or weapon.” He scratched his hair, avoiding the other man’s gaze. 

“Apologize?” He chuckled, pushing the steaming cup of tea towards the kid. “What exactly are you apologizing for?”

The kid looked at him with wide eyes, swallowing hard. “For cutting you off in your speech. And pointing out the flaw in front of everyone. I didn’t think it was a flaw, really, I was just wondering - I had no idea people would talk about it so much and--”

“What’s your name?” The man suddenly asked, arms crossed, staring the kid up and down with a small smirk.

“What?”

“I’m asking about your name. And your age.”

“Oh, I’m Neil. Neil Barton.” The kid was caught off guard with the sudden question. “I’m 21. I'm in college.”

“Which department?” 

“Physics.”

“So you’re both working and studying at the same time?” He gestured at the uniform, and Neil gave him a lopsided smile.

“Yes, but I'm graduating next week. I want to study further, but I'm basically on my own now, so I’m working full time to save up more. I’ll probably have enough money in three years.”

“What exactly is studying further, Neil?” 

“A Master’s degree.” He said, and the blush that had just gone away for a second suddenly came back.

“Oh, so you’re that kind of genius.” He laughed. “Finishing college early, heading for MA. No wonder.”

“Anyway, it’s late and I don’t want to interrupt your sleep, Mr. Tenet.” Neil changed the topic, took in a deep breath, face still in an adorable shade of pink. “So I hope you can accept my apology. I mean, I don’t think I can do anything to help you fix that mistake, but I need you to know that I’m sorry, and I should’ve known better. Please don’t sue me, I can’t afford paying fines or going to prison right now.”

His eyes went wide for a second, before he burst into a full belly laughter. 

Neil stared at him like he had grown another head, and he just shook his head. “Oh God. Why on Earth do you think we’re going to sue you?”

“Because I embarrassed you in front of the press.” Neil said, voice tiny. His blue eyes were hidden under the long eyelashes, hands fumbling with the hem of his shirt. “I ruined your launch.”

“Oh, honey, it doesn’t work that way.” He was still chuckling nonstop. This boy. “Tenet Corp is a rather large company. We don’t tremble and fall in front of a small mistake.”

“Oh, I’m sorry--I didn’t mean that--”

“Stop apologizing for everything and just listen.” He said, and Neil’s lips went shut. “What you did wasn’t wrong. You didn’t violate any law, you didn’t harm us on purpose, and I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re not?” Neil was blinking rapidly. It was adorable.

“Because I’m not a petulant child. What you did was help us to point out our mistake, so we can fix it and give our customers the best product we can. It’s actually better for our company in the long run, therefore, better for me. I should be thanking you.”

“But I heard something about your stocks going down? Isn’t that a bad thing?”

“It’s just temporary. We’ll get back up soon.” He shook his head. “But imagine no one noticed the flaw and we keep selling it. Someone will see the problem eventually - and that would be the time the suing starts, because they’ve paid for it and we promised better.”

The look of pure relief on Neil’s face was gold. It was like a child suddenly found out he wasn’t being scolded by his mom.

“...So I’m safe? You’re really not mad?”

“Not at all.” He shook his head. “Actually, Neil, I have an offer for you.”

“...Yes?”

“How about I pay for your tuition so you can finish your Master’s program and when you do, you can come back here to work for me?”

Neil was awestruck. He couldn’t make out any words for a short while, wide eyes stared at him in pure shock. He looked like a very confused little duckling.

“But… Just… Just that? You just pay for everything and give me a job and ask for nothing back?”

“Who said I’m asking for nothing back?” He smirked. “I want a date.”

Neil didn’t seem to understand what he meant. 

“With you.” He held out a hand, trying not to scare the kid. “Just a date first, and maybe we’ll talk about other things later.”

Realization dawned on Neil’s face. His posture immediately changed again from relaxed to tensed. “I… I’m not sure...”

“Just a date first, Neil, that’s all I want. Someone to talk to. You can think about it from now.” The man shrugged, dark brown eyes looking at him softly. “If after the date you decide you really don’t want to do it, then it’s fine, you’ll never see me again. But if you want the same things that I do, we can come up with some ground rules to make you feel completely safe.”

Neil was frozen in his seat, sweat rolling down the side of his face. He looked horrified, confused, and full of want at the same time - all emotions swirled inside his eyes, staring at the man’s face, trying to make a decision. And then he slowly looked down at his closed fists on the old, dirty and torn up uniform, and all things changed in his eyes. 

“The date’s not necessary. I’m in. I’ve been waiting for too long.” He said, standing up. The shy, closed off young man he had just seen a few minutes ago was shoved away to show a man who would do anything to get what he wanted, and it peaked his interests more than ever. “What do you want me to do?”

“Alright, easy tiger.” He chuckled, also standing up. He took Neil’s hand in his and the boy calmed down a little. From this distance, he could still see the small shards of uncertainty in Neil’s blue eyes, and he didn’t want them to exist. “I still want a date, just so we can get to know each other. Get home, get some sleep, and come back here tomorrow evening.”

Neil blinked at him, hesitated, before letting out a sunny smile and stepped closer to put a kiss on his cheek, hands shakily touched his bare chest. “I’m looking forward to it, sir.”

"Call me David."

**_To be continued_**


	2. Chapter 2

When David got out of the door of the Tenet building, he saw Neil standing on the sidewalk, pacing around so fast he got dizzy just from looking at the kid. It brought a smile to his face when he saw the grey linen suit Neil had put on himself along with a dark green scarf and still a mop of messy hair - it had to be his best look. It was far from how his past date prepared to see David, but he didn't mind. It was the effort that counts, and Neil looked adorable with that mop of hair. David wondered if he ever had a comb.

"Hello, Neil." He cleared his throat, smiling as Neil jumped and turned around, awkwardly trying to fix his stance and appearance.

"Hi, sir." The boy smiled nervously as he stepped closer and eyed him. "Wow, you're… Wow."

"Was that a good wow?" He laughed, and Neil blushed a little. Well, Neil should blush, looking at him. He spent a lot of time picking the right tailored suit to wear, and he dressed to impress.

"Of course, you look amazing. I must look like garbage walking next to you."

David held out his hand and Neil hesitated for a second, but took his hand. "Doesn't matter, because you won't be walking."

He could feel how Neil's hand was shaking lightly in his palm, how the boy kept glancing nervously at him whenever he thought David wasn't paying attention, and he just squeezed Neil's hand a little to assure him. They were in public, and it was the first time they were together, it was understandable for Neil to feel anxious. David might not be the kind of celebrity that had paparazzi swarming at his every move, but being followed and seeing news about his personal life was something he was used to. He just hoped none of them got here early enough.

"Here, get in." 

He opened the door for Neil and the boy got in, carefully fastening the seat belt as he gaped at the car. David smirked as Neil couldn't seem to close his mouth at the sight of the Rolls Royce.

"I feel like royalty." He let out a sigh as he leaned back against the expensive leather, and David chuckled. He started the car and headed for the restaurant, looking at Neil through the corner of his eyes.

The boy still had a faint blush on his cheeks, but from excitement and awe. David wasn't even sure he had a car or not. Well, from what he saw, Neil could be traveling by subway his whole life.

"So Neil." He asked, and Neil stopped poking at the glove box to look at him. "Why did you say yes so quickly last night, when I gave you the offer?"

"Aren't you happy about that, sir?" He tilted his head, and David blinked slowly.

"Just surprised, that's all. You were hesitating just a few seconds before, so I wonder what changed your mind."

Neil smiled, leaning back in his seat. "I was hesitating. I wondered if it was dangerous, or if it was worth it. I could imagine my mother's voice in my head, telling me not to sell myself like some kind of goods just to have money."

"You're not some kind of--"

"But then screw her, right?" Neil grinned, and it stung, seeing the sadness pooling in his blue eyes. "She's never here, so why should I care? I've been waiting for too long. Working, working, working, saving money, but I'm good enough at Maths to know it'll never be enough. If I had enough, I would have gotten out of college a year ago. Physics is the thing I love most, and I'd do anything to have it in my life."

"I promise you'll have everything you need to get that degree." David said, reaching out to touch his hand, and Neil slotted his fingers in the man's palm. 

"What about you? I seem to be a useless investment, why did you choose me?" He looked at David, and the man smiled.

"I know you're smart enough to know your worth."

"Am I worthy of a job? Probably. But am I worthy of a ride in a fancy car and have a fancy dinner and a fancy tuition fee? Nuh uh." Neil rolled his eyes at him. "If I'm not desperate, sir, I'd say you're a serial killer who wants to lure me into a deadly trap."

David let out a laugh. "You're right, I could kill you or kidnap you if I want to. It’s almost too easy."

"Just please don't." Neil grinned, and kissed the back of his hand. David caressed Neil's lips and jawline with the back of his fingers, sighing.

Neil immediately looked at him questioningly, eyes big and soft. The shy boy from last night was almost gone when Neil made up his mind, but traces of him were still left in the way he worriedly eyed David as if he was afraid he had done something wrong. 

"What exactly do you think you have to do when you get yourself into this, Neil?" He asked when they stopped for a red light, and the blond boy stuttered.

"I… Well, I’m not so sure about this, but making you happy, I guess…?" He thought for a moment. "You said you need someone to talk to, right? I'll do that. I'll listen, I'll encourage you to do whatever you want to do, and if your bed feels empty at night, I can be there."

David looked at him, eyes slightly widened at the words. Neil wasn't entirely sure how this worked, but he already felt like everything David's ever asked for in his lonely, quiet life. 

"Being by my side can put you in the spotlight. People will dig up on you, make up things about you and invade your personal space." He said, hoping that the way he described it will nearly catch up with reality. "Are you okay with that?"

"Whatever that gets me to school, sir." Neil shrugged, looking back on the road, and David nodded. Always remind himself of the real reason why Neil's here.

The rest of the way to the restaurant was peacefully quiet, with David's hand holding Neil's, feeling his warmth. The boy looked out the car window with curious eyes and an excited smile, as if he had never really seen the city like this before. Sometimes, when he saw something particularly interesting, he would tug David's hand a little and smiled his sunny smile at him, pointing at the thing. It was like having a sun beam in your car the whole way, and David's heart warmed up a little. 

They finally arrived at the restaurant, and Neil, once again, gaped at the sheer sight of the building. Impressing him was easy, but David spent the time to make sure he picked the best place he could find.

“I’m definitely going to be kicked out for dressing like this.” Neil mumbled, following him inside, and he hated to say that Neil was right. But then he was with David, and everything else wasn’t a problem anymore.

“Don’t worry, no one’s kicking you out.” He assured, taking Neil’s hand again and taking him in. They passed the reception with not much difficulty.

“Mr. Tenet.” The receptionist gave him a polite smile and immediately, a waiter came to show them to their reserved table. Neil looked around them with wide eyes, the light from the chandelier made his eyes sparkle, and David couldn’t help but to kiss him gently on his lips. He tasted a faint sweetness of pink bubblegum.

Neil’s surprised look turned to him, but just for a second, before the boy smiled and sat down. “You know, sir, I’ve been hearing a lot about your power, but buying a whole restaurant just to take a nobody out for dinner is on another level.”

It was David’s turn to be surprised. “How did you know?”

“I did some research.” The blond shrugged. “That’s what a scientist does, sir. Getting to know what they’re dealing with. Or who.”

The waiter came back with a pair of glasses and a bottle of wine, and David took the menu. “So have you done any research on this restaurant yet, baby?”

The name made Neil froze a little, his hands grabbed on the menu a little more tightly as he blushed again, and he shook his head awkwardly. David chuckled. “We’ll just have the usual, please.”

The waiter nodded and brought the menus away. Neil asked him curiously.

“Did you take a lot of your babies here for the same usual food?”

“Why do you think there are many people like you?” David sipped on his wine, and Neil looked at him through the long eyelashes.

“Because the press said a lot about them. None of them are like me, really, but they sure do look like your lovers. But not very successful lovers, aren’t they? Or else you won’t be here with me.”

“Don’t believe everything you read, Neil.” David said, voice stern, and he could see the playful smile disappear on his face. “They know nothing about me.”

“Then I guess I'll have to look closely to see the real you from now on." The blond boy said, and the waiter came back with their food. It was a three course meal, and the first one to come out were two large round plates that slightly dipped in the middle and there was a small amount of green soup in it. It was beautifully decorated and had an alluring smell, but when he looked at Neil, he saw a small crease appearing between the boy's brows. It was only there for a brief second, and Neil quickly came back to his usual carefree attitude.

  
  


They sipped on their drinks and started eating, chatting about everything and nothing in particular. Neil had the way of expressing things through words that made David laugh and feel content - like he could listen to the boy babbling about Physics all day and not get bored for a second even when he understood nothing. But Neil was never the one to talk all day. He always asked him questions, telling stories to make him open up about himself, listening to what he said. David was careful not to let out any confidential information from work, but it was very hard, since it's been ages since there was someone who would actually care, instead of just thirsting after his money. Well, Neil was also here for money, but at least he had the ability to pretend, and David just ignored everything else. He spoke, freely, and enthusiastically.

He was about to tell Neil about the time he met an extremely dumb partner from a fuel company when the main dish came out, and Neil's lips turned into a frown for a whole few seconds in a row. David quickly turned down to look at his plate. Maybe something was wrong with the food?

But it looked nothing out of the ordinary. Still the clams and hot sauce that David usually enjoyed with his business partners. And he tried it and it tasted just fine. 

On the other side of the table, Neil was also quietly eating the clams, not commenting on anything. He looked alright, but David knew he didn't like it for some reason, and it was the worst thing.

"Baby, is something bothering you?" He asked, and Neil's eyes went wide.

"I-No, not at all, why are you asking?"

"You don't seem to like the food." 

"I've finished all of it." Neil said, pointing at his empty plate. "It tastes nice. I love it. There's nothing wrong."

That was when he realized, and he started to chuckle. He used the napkin to wipe his mouth and stood up, holding out his hand. Neil stared at him.

"Wh--Am I in trouble?" 

He shook his head. "No, come with me."

So they just abandoned the luxurious wine and meal that hasn't even fully come out, and David took him out of the restaurant, into the street. Neil had no idea why or what they were doing, but he trusted the man, so he just followed, hand in his. 

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

They didn't get into the fancy car, just walked side by side on the pavement, Neil eyeing David like he was the most gorgeous wonder of the world. Out of the sparkling light of the fancy restaurant, out of the shine of the car and everything, he looked free - but still the most charismatic man he had ever seen. And his strong, but gentle grip on Neil's hand made him feel safer than a bulletproof armor.

"There it is." He pointed at a small dining on the side of the street, and Neil looked at it. It was nothing like the place they just came from - it was neat, clean and bright, but simple and a lot less sparkling. "It has the most British fish and chips in the city, I'm sure you'll love it."

They came in, not as a billionaire and his sugar baby, but only as an ordinary couple going on their first date. It was strange that no one noticed David, since he was still in his expensive suit, but it felt nice. The waitress was sweet. He had been waiting for a chance to try this place's food for so long - but the schedule was just hectic. It wasn't the kind of place he would take his lovers to, but from the way Neil looked at the food and devoured all of them, he knew this is where Neil belonged. Not a luxurious restaurant with a giant plate and one single bite of food in the middle, but somewhere warm, whole-hearted, and where they could be free.

"This is amazing, sir. Thank you." Neil said, grinning from ear to ear, cheeks flushing with content and excitement. He looked adorable.

"I'm glad you like it, Neil." He smiled, and Neil leaned over the table to give him a peck on the lips.

"To the start of a beautiful _friendship_?" He smirked cheekily as he raised his glass of Sprite, and David laughed, clinking his Diet Coke with it.

"Beautiful, yes."

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a kudo or comment to tell me how you feel about this fic!


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